His Work Among the Luo People Of Kenya Go ... and make disciples of all nations Matthew 28:19
January 4, 1994

Fraley's Chapel Church of Christ
c/o Jeff Young
Rte. #2 Box 421
Corinth, Mississippi  38834

To our Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

     We send you greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who
continues to strengthen and uplift us daily.  We truly have been blessed to be able to
witness to the Luo people.  As each day passes we learn more about the Luo customs and
find new ways to show Christ to them.
    One of the greatest hindrances to the gospel that we have been trying to address
lately is that of traditions or Luo customs.  The denominations do not seem to be
addressing most of these traditions, however they are evident in many aspects of the
Luo life.  You can find them starting at birth and continuing through burial of a Luo
person.  Many of these customs or traditions call for sacrifices to the spirits, or at
the least, an outward showing of appeasing the spirits, so as to not bring a future
curse upon the family.  It is even said among the Luo people that if a man wants to get
ahead in life, that the local witch doctor may require him to sacrifice one of his
children, or kill a person before a blessing can be bestowed upon that person.  We have
seen many instances of this ourselves in the past months.
     The sickness of Clement Kasuku may be one of these instances, since Clement's
father would give no money for hospital care, rather he dealt extensively with the
witch doctor and traditional Luo medicines.  Now Clement has been buried, and leaves
behind a wife and two little girls.  Please continue to pray for Clement's wife,
Elizabeth and her two daughters, since Luo traditions may require her to be used by
Clement's remaining brothers.
     Since we have been working hard recently to teach against traditions, it was not
hard for the Luo Christians to present lessons on tradition at the yearly national
meeting.  We were asked to provide five teachers (three men and two women), that would
address the topic of "Rural Challenges to Christian Ethics", in a classroom setting.
Many people were very impressed with the material that was covered, and there is talk
of making the next annual meeting deal extensively with the subject of worldly
traditions in the Christian walk.
    New years eve has come and gone.  We know that many Christians throughout the
world gathered to sing and pray in the new year.  The Luo Christians were no exception.
Two churches gathered at our home for a prayer meeting.  We expected around 30 to 40
people, but when it was all said and done over 100 people were present.  Some of whom
we rarely get to see at worship, and hopefully have encouraged them to give their lives
completely to our Lord.  We had a fellowship meal and two Christians preached to usher
in the new year.  Preparation for the meeting started around 2:00 p.m. on the 3lst and
we ended with prayer at 1:00 a.m. on the 1st.  All were spiritually uplifted and we
pray that the church may continue to prosper in the coming year.
     We trust that your new year has gotten off to a great start.  May the Lord put
many new challenges in front of us that will bring about an even greater dedication and
renewed faith in Him.  Please continue to remember your Luo brothers and sisters in
prayer.

Your Brother in Christ,
 
 

Barry J. Rosie